Persistent, immersible and extractable avatars

ABSTRACT

Avatar data is stored in a management application. The management application sends an immersion request to the application. The management application identifies the avatar data fields used by the application, and any appropriate scaling and avatar transformation. The management application scales the data appropriately, transforms the avatar if necessary, and transmits the (scaled and transformed) avatar data to the application. When the avatar is to be removed from the application, the application transmits the avatar data back to the management application, which integrates any changes to the avatar data into the original avatar data.

FIELD

This invention pertains to avatars, and more particularly to avatarsthat can be used in computers with multiple applications.

BACKGROUND

Webster's Third New International Dictionary (unabridged) defines“avatar” as “the descent and incarnation of a deity in earthly form; . .. an incarnation or embodiment in human form; . . . a remarkablycomplete manifestation or embodiment usu[ally] in a person, of aconcept, philosophy, or tradition; . . . a variant phase or version of acontinuing basic entity sometimes implying no more than a change in name. . . ” (WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 150 (2002)). Asthe term is used in the computer arts, the intended meaning liessomewhere in between these definitions, perhaps best described as arepresentation of the person in an application.

In terms of use, avatars in the computer arts (hereafter describedsimply as avatars) find their most prominent use in computer games,although other uses exist. Games such as Asheron's Call (a registeredtrademark of Turbine Entertainment Software Corporation) allow manydifferent players to meet online and play cooperatively (or not). Eachplayer assembles a representation of herself, selecting a charactertype, a preferred graphical representation for the player, and equippingthe graphical representation with information and supplies. Thisgraphical representation, acting in the player's stead, is an example ofan avatar.

But avatars as used today are limited to individual environments. Aplayer cannot take her avatar from Asheron's Call and insert that avatarin a different game (except possibly for successor games by TurbineEntertainment). Thus, if the player wants to play a different game, shemust create a different avatar for the different game. This requiredreplication means that the effort put into creating one avatar is of noadvantage for creating an avatar in a different environment. Worse,there is no way to carry over any of the details of the avatar from onegame to another, which means that any time spent developing thecharacter beyond its creation must also be reproduced.

Embodiments of the invention address these problems and others in theart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a management application interfacing with multipleapplications to instantiate avatars in the multiple applications,according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows details of the management application of FIG. 1, accordingto embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows details of one of the applications of FIG. 1, according toembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a procedure for using a management application to insert anavatar in an application in the system of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a procedure for using an application to instantiate anavatar received from a management application in the system of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a management application interfacing with otherapplications to instantiate avatars in the multiple applications,according to an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 1, managementapplication 105 is responsible for managing the avatars and theirinsertion (or immersion) into various applications, such as applications110 and 115. Although FIG. 1 shows only two applications, a personskilled in the art will recognize that there can be any number ofapplications into which an avatar can be inserted.

To store the avatars, management application 105 includes data store120. In FIG. 1, data store 120 is shown as storing three avatar data125, 130, and 135, but a person skilled in the art will recognize thatdata store 120 can store any number of avatar data.

When an avatar is to be immersed in an application, the application doesnot need to store data for the avatar: the application receives the datafrom management application 105. Management application 105 communicateswith the application, determining what data the application needs. Then,management application 105 transmits the data to the application,enabling the avatar to interact with the application. For example, FIG.1 shows management application 105 communicating with applications 110and 115 using communication lines 140 and 145, respectively.

Communication lines 140 and 145 can be any desired lines ofcommunication, including networks such as Local Area Networks (LANs),Wide Area Networks (WANs), or the Internet. Hardware can include wirednetworks such as Megabit or Gigabit Ethernet, or wireless networks suchas any of the IEEE 802.11 wireless network standards or a Bluetoothnetwork. The networks can use an infrastructure or can be ad hoc. Anydesired protocols can be used to transmit data over the communicationlines, such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) or the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

While FIG. 1 shows management application 105 transmitting two copies ofavatar data 125 (shown as copies 150 and 155) to applications 1 and 2(numbered 110 and 115), a person skilled in the art will recognize thatgenerally an avatar is immersed in only one application. Immersing anavatar in more than one application at a time can result in the avatargaining experience in one application that is inconsistent with theexperience of the avatar in the other application. But if managementapplication 105 has the ability to integrate avatar data coming from twodifferent applications and to resolve potential experiencecontradictions, then management application 105 can immerse the sameavatar in multiple applications simultaneously. In addition, as shownbelow, there are situations in which is advantageous for an avatar to beimmersed in multiple applications simultaneously.

Ideally, management application 105 would be responsible for storing alldata relating to every avatar. But in practice, it can happen that someapplications use avatar data that are specific to the application, andnot needed by any other application. While management application 105can be responsible for storing this data, an alternative is to make theapplication responsible for storing avatar data specific to thatapplication. As shown in FIG. 1, application 110 includes data store160, which is shown storing avatar data 165 specific to application 110.When avatar data 150 is transmitted to application 110, application 110integrates application data 150 with application-specific data 165before the avatar begins interacting with the application.

After the avatar is finished using the application, the application canthen return the avatar data to management application 105 usingcommunication lines 150 and 155. The application can return all of thedata to management application 105, even data generated by theapplication that was not in the data provided by management application105 (provided the data is data that would be used by other applicationsin immersing the avatar). The application can also storeapplication-specific data in its data store.

For avatars to be immersible in multiple applications as shown requiresan agreement on the standards for avatar immersion. In one embodiment ofthe invention, standards are set by a certifying organization. Thiscertifying organization can be responsible for defining how avatars arestored by management application 105, what types of data can be storedby management application 105, how the messages passed betweenmanagement application 105 and the applications are structured andtransmitted, etc. Then, to support immersible avatars, each applicationhas to conform to the standards: that is, the application has to becertified by the certifying organization.

Another function that can be performed by the certifying organization isdetermining the appropriate scales for each application. As will bediscussed below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, one function performedby management application 105 is to scale the avatar data beforetransmitting it to the application. Different applications can be easieror harder than others in terms of the effort required to gain experienceand to develop the avatar. To account for these differences in internaldifficulty level, the standard-setting organization can review eachapplication, and as part of the process of qualifying the application touse immersible avatars can determine where the application fits on ascale relative to one used by management application 105. A personskilled in the art will recognize that more than one scale might beappropriate, depending on the application. For example, an applicationmight be more difficult with respect to one avatar attribute, but easierwith respect to another.

As an example of how the certifying organization could operate, consideravatars in multi-player gaming environments. One such gaming applicationmight be set in an environment that uses a bow and arrow, provided theavatar takes a “course” in archery. Another such gaming applicationmight instead use a more “modern” weapon, such as a rifle. Learning touse a bow and arrow is a more difficult skill than learning to use arifle, but the tools themselves are essentially interchangeable. Thus,rather than having management application 105 store informationseparately for each skill and tool, as avatars progress through learningthe skills, management application 105 can store scaled datarepresenting the effort expended. And if two avatars using the differentgaming applications exert the same amount of effort to learn therespective skills, the avatar learning to use the bow and arrow will bescaled more highly than the avatar learning to use the rifle. Then, ifthe avatar learning to use the bow and arrow switches to the gamingapplication with the rifle, the experience level will be scaled to alower level, reflecting the difference in difficult levels of theskills.

To help explain this more clearly, assume that the skills have differentlevels of mastery, such as novice proficiency, intermediate proficiency,and expert proficiency. Further, assume that achieving each level ofmastery for the bow and arrow requires six units of effort, and eachlevel of mastery for the rifle requires four units of effort. If aplayer has completed three of the four units in attaining noviceproficiency with a rifle, that would be analogous to having learnedroughly four of the six units toward attaining novice proficiency with abow and arrow. Thus, while only one unit would remain unlearned with therifle, two would remain unlearned for the bow and arrow. Going in theother direction, if a player had expended three of the six units towardattaining novice proficiency with a bow and arrow and then switched tothe other gaming application, only two units would remain to learninghow to use a rifle.

Because users can (usually) remove avatars from the environments at anytime, the avatar data would store data relating to the effort expendedin learning the skill. Thus, if the avatar is removed from the bow andarrow environment after reaching an intermediate proficiency, that wouldbe represented by 12 units of effort. When the avatar is immersed in therifle environment, 12 units of effort would represent expertproficiency, meaning that the avatar might have better aim, or be fasterin reloading the rifle.

Although learned skills such as using bows and arrows or rifles are onetype of data that can be scaled, a person skilled in the art willrecognize that any data in the avatar data can be scaled. For example,physical, mental, emotional, educational, and other attributes of theavatar can be stored and scaled. As a more specific example, someavatars might include attributes such as intelligence, charisma,strength, wisdom, etc.: attributes that are intangible and, to someextent, difficult to change once set.

Although applications can use the same avatar data, if the fields usedby the applications are only relatively compatible, scaling might not beall that is needed to make the avatar fit the application. For example,the graphic representation of an avatar within an application mightvary, depending on the particular application: one gaming applicationmight use avatars that are chosen from human ethnic groups, whereasanother gaming application might use offer avatar representations basedon alien species, but without ethnic subcategories. For example, a StarTrek® environment might offer human, Klingon®, Romulan®, and other alienspecies for the avatars. (Star Trek, Klingon, and Romulan are registeredtrademarks of Paramount Pictures Corporation.) Thus, as part ofimmersing an avatar into an application, the data might need to betransformed to a form appropriate to the application. Thistransformation can be done automatically (if an appropriate mapping canbe easily determined), or can be done manually by letting the userselect the desired transformation. The transformation can also be doneeither by management application 105, or by the application into whichthe avatar is being immersed. If management application 105 performs thetransformation, then the various applications are saved the individualburdens of performing transformations. But if the individualapplications perform the transformations, they can potentially customizehow the transformations occur to their best advantage.

As part of being certified, it is not required that an application useall possible data fields. For example, an application might permit anavatar to gain experience and to interact with objects, but not toactually carry any objects. This application can be certified withoutneeding management application 105 to provide carried objects as part ofimmersing the avatar into the application.

FIG. 2 shows details of the management application of FIG. 1, accordingto embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 2, management application 105is shown as including several components. Requester 205 is used torequest the data fields and the scaling of those fields the applicationuses, which store avatar data, for the immersion. Normally, managementapplication 105 requests this information from the application as partof the request to immerse the avatar, but a person skilled in the artwill recognize that this information can be request from a third-partyentity: e.g., the certifying organization. Selector 210 selects from thedata store (shown in FIG. 1) data that correspond to the fields used bythe application. Scaler 215 is responsible for scaling the data to anappropriate level for the application, for reasons like those discussedabove. Transformer 220 is responsible for transforming the data to aform appropriate for the application, as discussed above. Interface 225is used to communicate with the application (that is, to transmit theinformation from requester 205, and to transmit the avatar after it hasbeen scaled and transformed by scaler 215 and transformer 220,respectively.)

Receiver 230 receives data from the application about the avatar, afterthe avatar has finished interacting with the application. (Again,interface 225 is used in this communication.) Integrator 235 isresponsible for integrating the data back into the data store, as someof the data might have changed while the avatar was immersed. Note thatmanagement application 105 should not delete the avatar data while theavatar is immersed, because the application might not need (or even beable to use) all of the avatar data. Thus, integrator 235 merges thereceived avatar data back into the original data still in the datastore.

FIG. 3 shows details of one of the applications of FIG. 1, according toembodiments of the invention. Application 110 is shown as includingreceiver 305, used to receive a request to immerse an avatar into theapplication. Transmitter 310 responds, specifying the data fields usedby application 110 for avatars. (Transmitter 310 can also be used totransmit the avatar data back to the management application, after theavatar is removed from application 110.) Application 110 can use avatartemplate 315 to store the data fields application 110 uses. Avatarinstantiator 320 is responsible for taking the avatar data received fromthe management application, using that data to fill the data fields fora new avatar, and instantiate the avatar into the application. Finally,application 110 can include transformer 325, which performs thetransformation described above.

FIG. 4 shows a procedure for using a management application to insert anavatar in an application in the system of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the invention. In FIG. 4, at step 405, the managementapplication sends a request to immerse an avatar in an application. Atstep 410, the management application receives the data fields and theirscaling used by the application. As discussed above with reference toFIG. 2, the management application normally receives the data fields,along with their scaling, from the application, but can alternativelyreceive this information from a third-party entity, such as thecertifying organization. At step 415, the management application scalesthe data requested by the application. At step 420, the managementapplication transforms the avatar to a form acceptable to theapplication. As discussed above, the management application does notneed to carry out the transformation, in which case step 420 can beomitted, as shown by arrow 425.

At step 430, the scaled and transformed data is sent to the application.At step 435, the management application receives updated avatar datafrom the application. At step 440, the management application rescalesthe updated data, and at step 445, the management applicationincorporates the scaled, updated data into the original data.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a procedure for using an application to instantiate anavatar received from a management application in the system of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 5A, at step 505,the application receives a request from a management application toimmerse an avatar. At step 510, the application identifies the datafields it uses for avatars. At step 515, the application requests fromthe management application the data for the data fields. As shown byarrow 520, steps 510 and 515 can be omitted, if the managementapplication can determine the data fields used by the application andtheir scaling from an independent source (e.g., the certifyingorganization). At step 525, the application receives from the managementapplication the avatar data. At step 530, the application stores thedata in the data fields.

At step 535 (FIG. 5B), the application checks to see if any data fieldswere not filled with data from the management application. If not, thenat step 540, these data fields are identified, and at step 545, theapplication fills these data fields using data from theapplication-specific data store for the avatar (assuming the avatar hadbeen immersed in the application before, and therefore had generatedsuch data. If not, then the avatar fills these data fields with defaultvalues). At step 550, the application transforms the avatar. Asdiscussed above, if the management application performs thetransformation, then step 550 is can be omitted, as shown by arrow 555.At step 560, the application instantiates the avatar, and at step 565,the application updates the data in the data fields as the avatar gainsexperience.

At step 570 (FIG. 5C), the application sends updated data back to themanagement application. At step 575, the application checks to see ifthere is any avatar data that the management application will notmanage. If so, then at step 580, the application identifies thesefields, and at step 585, the application stores the data from thesefields in the application-specific data store.

While the above description focuses on the use of avatars in gamingapplications, a person skilled in the art will recognize that otherenvironments can be used for the avatars. For example, the applicationscan be “stores” in a shopping mall. Properties of the avatars caninclude information about monetary sources (such as bank names androuting numbers, account numbers, authorized users, etc.) and places towhich purchases should be delivered (such as home or business addressand contact persons). The avatar can be immersed in a particular storeto make purchase, with the result that a purchase in the real world isaffected.

For example, the avatar can be immersed in an application representing apizza parlor. The user, through the avatar, can view the orderingoptions and place an order. The store would get from the avatar theaddress to which the order should be delivered. The user would authorizevia the avatar the payment for the order, and the pizza parlor wouldthen instruct a local franchise to deliver the order to the user.

Another possible use for avatars include medical services. The avatarcan include information about the person's medical history: e.g., recentillnesses, surgical history, medicine allergies, current prescriptions,etc. Emergency personnel can then use the avatar to learn the user'scurrent state and recent history, to better diagnose and treat theproblem. The avatar can receive information from any medical connectionsto the user: for example, if the user is connected to asphygmomanometer, the avatar can store the user's current blood pressureas it is measured. (The avatar can theoretically receive informationfrom wearable devices, and is not limited to receiving data fromemergency equipment. For example, if the user is wearing a heart ratemonitor, the avatar can receive data about the user's heart rate.)

As a more detailed example of how the avatar can be used for medicalservices, consider the following. A person wears, for example, a heartrate monitor, which tracks the person's heart rate. Provided the heartrate monitor has an appropriate software component, the heart ratemonitor can be an application into which the avatar can be immersed. Aconnection can be maintained between the management application and theavatar, even while the avatar is immersed in the heart rate monitor.This connection can be used to transmit data from the avatar back to themanagement application. (This transmission can be continuous, or thedata can be sent in bursts, as desired.)

In the event that a problem arises (e.g., the person's heart begins tofibrillate), the management application can take action on behalf of theperson. The management application can detect the problem in severalways. For example, the heart rate monitor can transmit a specific signalindicating a problem, or the management application can recognize thecurrent heart pattern as indicating fibrillation. Either way, themanagement application can act on the person's behalf: e.g., to alertemergency services. For example, the management application can immersean avatar (either the same avatar immersed in the heart rate monitor oranother avatar) in an application for the local emergency response,providing the person's location and current physical state to theemergency providers. (Note that this can result in the avatar beingimmersed simultaneously in multiple applications.) The managementapplication can then act as a conduit between the two avatars, keepingthe emergency response personnel informed about the person's condition.A person skilled in the art will recognize other ways in which themanagement application can respond to the problem on behalf of theperson.

Yet another use for avatars would be to engage in stock transactions.The avatar can store data about the user's preferences (e.g., riskaversion, stocks of personal interest and personal dislike, investmentlimits, etc.) and can interact with brokerage applications to find waysto improve the user's portfolio. For example, the avatar can be informedabout various stock buy and sell price limits for the user. The avatarcan then be immersed in an application to monitor stock prices. When astock's price reaches a buy or sell limit, the avatar can initiate apurchase or sell order on behalf of the user. If the avatar is notimmersed in the user's brokerage application, the avatar can first beimmersed in the brokerage application, and then the order can beinitiated. (Note that the avatar might be left in the originalapplication to continue to track stock prices, even while immersed inthe brokerage application.) The user can then authorize or reject thetransaction.

As can be seen from the above discussion, avatars can interact withapplications in ways paralleling virtually any interaction a person canhave with others. While specific applications have been discussed above,the use of avatars is not intended to be limited to only the disclosedapplications. A person skilled in the art will recognize how otherapplications can be modified to use immersible avatars in a mannersimilar to that described above.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable machine in which certain aspects of theinvention may be implemented. Typically, the machine includes a systembus to which is attached processors, memory, e.g., random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or other state preserving medium, storagedevices, a video interface, and input/output interface ports. Themachine may be controlled, at least in part, by input from conventionalinput devices, such as keyboards, mice, etc., as well as by directivesreceived from another machine, interaction with a virtual reality (VR)environment, biometric feedback, or other input signal. As used herein,the term “machine” is intended to broadly encompass a single machine, ora system of communicatively coupled machines or devices operatingtogether. Exemplary machines include computing devices such as personalcomputers, workstations, servers, portable computers, handheld devices,telephones, tablets, etc., as well as transportation devices, such asprivate or public transportation, e.g., automobiles, trains, cabs, etc.

The machine may include embedded controllers, such as programmable ornon-programmable logic devices or arrays, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits, embedded computers, smart cards, and the like. Themachine may utilize one or more connections to one or more remotemachines, such as through a network interface, modem, or othercommunicative coupling. Machines may be interconnected by way of aphysical and/or logical network, such as an intranet, the Internet,local area networks, wide area networks, etc. One skilled in the artwill appreciated that network communication may utilize various wiredand/or wireless short range or long range carriers and protocols,including radio frequency (RF), satellite, microwave, Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, Bluetooth, optical,infrared, cable, laser, etc.

The invention may be described by reference to or in conjunction withassociated data including functions, procedures, data structures,application programs, etc. which when accessed by a machine results inthe machine performing tasks or defining abstract data types orlow-level hardware contexts. Associated data may be stored in anarticle, for example, the volatile and/or non-volatile memory, e.g.,RAM, ROM, etc., or in other storage devices and their associated storagemedia, including hard-drives, floppy-disks, optical storage, tapes,flash memory, memory sticks, digital video disks, biological storage,etc. Associated data may be delivered over transmission environments,including the physical and/or logical network, in the form of packets,serial data, parallel data, propagated signals, etc., and may be used ina compressed or encrypted format. Associated data may be used in adistributed environment, and stored locally and/or remotely for machineaccess.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention withreference to illustrated embodiments, it will be recognized that theillustrated embodiments may be modified in arrangement and detailwithout departing from such principles. And, though the foregoingdiscussion has focused on particular embodiments, other configurationsare contemplated. In particular, even though expressions such as “in oneembodiment” or the like are used herein, these phrases are meant togenerally reference embodiment possibilities, and are not intended tolimit the invention to particular embodiment configurations. As usedherein, these terms may reference the same or different embodiments thatare combinable into other embodiments.

Consequently, in view of the wide variety of permutations to theembodiments described herein, this detailed description and accompanyingmaterial is intended to be illustrative only, and should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the invention. What is claimed as the invention,therefore, is all such modifications as may come within the scope andspirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.

1. A computer including a storage medium storing a managementapplication, the management application capable of immersing an avatarinto at least an application and a second application, said applicationand said second application offering different functionality, saidapplication operative to use said avatar to achieve a result in the realworld the management application comprising: a data store to store datafor said avatar, said data store including at least a first data field,a second data field, and a third data field, wherein said third datafield operative to store real-world data about a user, and wherein thedata store is operative to store said data according to a standard setby a certifying organization that is independent of the managementapplication, said application, and said second application; a requesterto request data fields used by said application; a selector to selectdata from the data store corresponding to said data fields, wherein saidselected data includes said first data field and said third data fieldand does not include said second data field; an interface to immersesaid avatar in said application by transmitting said selected data fromthe management application to said application and to receive updateddata from said application; and an integrator to integrate said updateddata with said data for said avatar in the data store, after which saidavatar is capable of being immersed in either said application or saidsecond application.
 2. A computer according to claim 1, furthercomprising a scaler to scale said selected data appropriate for saidapplication.
 3. A computer according to claim 2, wherein the scaler isoperative to scale an intangible attribute of said avatar.
 4. A computeraccording to claim 1, further comprising a transformer to transform saidavatar to a form consistent with said application.
 5. A computeraccording to claim 4, wherein the transformer is operative to alter onlya graphical representation of said avatar.
 6. A computer according toclaim 1, wherein: the requester is operative to request data fields usedby a second application; the selector is operative to select data fromthe data store corresponding to said data fields, wherein said selecteddata includes said second data field and does not include said firstdata field; the interface is operative to immerse said avatar in saidsecond application by providing said selected data to said secondapplication and to receive second updated data from said secondapplication; and the integrator is operative to integrate said secondupdated data with said data for said avatar in the data store.
 7. Acomputer according to claim 1, wherein the interface is operative toimmerse said avatar without modifying said selected data.
 8. A computeraccording to claim 1, wherein said application is capable of use byothers when said avatar is not immersed in said application.
 9. Asystem, comprising a first computer including a first storage mediumstoring a management application thereon and a second computer includinga second storage medium storing an application thereon, the managementapplication capable of immersing an avatar into at least the applicationand a second application offering different functionality, theapplication operative to use said avatar to achieve a result in the realworld, wherein: the management application includes: a data store tostore data for said avatar, said data store including at least a firstdata field, a second data field, and a third data field, wherein saidthird data field operative to store real-world data about a user, andwherein the data store is operative to store said data according to astandard set by a certifying organization that is independent of themanagement application, said application, and said second application; arequester to request data fields used by said application; a selector toselect data from the data store corresponding to said data fields,wherein said selected data includes said first data field and said thirddata field and does not include said second data field; an interface toimmerse said avatar in the application by transmitting said selecteddata from the management application to the application and to receiveupdated data from the application; and an integrator to integrate saidupdated data with said data for said avatar in the data store afterwhich said avatar is capable of being immersed in either the applicationor said second application; and the application includes: a receiver toreceive the request for said data fields and to receive data for saiddata fields from the management application; a transmitter to transmitsaid data fields to the management application and to transmit saidupdated data to the management application, wherein said data fields donot include at least said second data field for which the managementapplication stores data for said avatar; and an avatar instantiator toinstantiate said avatar using said received data.
 10. A system accordingto claim 9, further comprising a transformer to transform said avatar toa form consistent with the application.
 11. A system according to claim10, wherein the management application includes the transformer.
 12. Asystem according to claim 10, wherein the application includes thetransformer.
 13. A system according to claim 10, wherein the applicationfurther includes a data store to store data for said avatar unique tothe application and not needed by any other application.
 14. Acomputer-implemented method for using a management application,comprising: sending an immersion request to immerse an avatar in anapplication, the application operative to use the avatar to achieve aresult in the real world; receiving a data request from the application;selecting data from a data store corresponding to the received datarequest, wherein the selected data includes a second data field storingreal-world data about a user and the selected data does not include afirst data field, and wherein the data store is operative to store saiddata according to a standard set by a certifying organization that isindependent of the management application, the application, and a secondapplication; scaling the selected data for the avatar requested by theapplication, the scaled data including at least one intangible attributeof the avatar; sending the scaled data to the application, therebyenabling the application to instantiate the avatar; receiving returneddata from the application; rescaling the returned data; andincorporating the updated data into the data for the avatar, after whichthe avatar can be immersed in the application and the secondapplication.
 15. A method according to claim 14, further comprisingtransforming the avatar into a form consistent with the application. 16.A method according to claim 14, wherein: scaling data for the avatarincluding scaling a subset of the data for the avatar; and sending thescaled data includes sending the scaled subset of the data to theapplication.
 17. A method according to claim 14, further comprising:sending a second immersion request to immerse the avatar in a secondapplication; receiving a second data request from the secondapplication; selecting second selected data from the data storecorresponding to the second received data request, wherein the secondselected data does not include a second data field; scaling the secondselected data for the avatar requested by the second application; andsending the second scaled data to the second application, therebyenabling the second application to instantiate the avatar.
 18. A methodaccording to claim 17, wherein scaling the data for the avatar requestedby the second application includes scaling the data for the avatarrequested by the second application to the second scaled data that isdifferent from the scaled data sent to the application.
 19. A methodaccording to claim 14, wherein: receiving a data request from theapplication includes receiving scales to use in scaling the selecteddata; and scaling the selected data includes scaling the selected datafor the avatar requested by the application according to the scales touse in scaling the selected data.
 20. An article comprising: a storagemedium, said storage medium having stored thereon instructions, that,when executed by a machine, result in: sending an immersion request toimmerse an avatar in an application, the application operative to usethe avatar to achieve a result in the real world; receiving a datarequest from the application; selecting data from a data storecorresponding to the received data request, wherein the selected dataincludes a second data field storing real-world data about a user andthe selected data does not include a first data field, and wherein thedata store is operative to store said data according to a standard setby a certifying organization that is independent of the managementapplication, the application, and a second application; scaling theselected data for the avatar requested by the application, the scaleddata including at least one intangible attribute of the avatar; sendingthe scaled data to the application, thereby enabling the application toinstantiate the avatar; receiving returned data from the application;rescaling the returned data; and incorporating the updated data into thedata for the avatar, after which the avatar can be immersed in theapplication and the second application.
 21. An article according toclaim 20, the storage medium having stored thereon further instructions,that, when executed by the machine, result in transforming the avatarinto a form consistent with the application.
 22. An article according toclaim 20, wherein: scaling data for the avatar including scaling asubset of the data for the avatar; and sending the scaled data includessending the scaled subset of the data to the application.
 23. An articleaccording to claim 20, the storage medium having stored thereon furtherinstructions, that, when executed by the machine, result in: sending asecond immersion request to immerse the avatar in a second application;receiving a second data request from the second application; selectingsecond selected data from the data store corresponding to the secondreceived data request, wherein the second selected data does not includea second data field; scaling the second selected data for the avatarrequested by the second application; and sending the second scaled datato the second application, thereby enabling the second application toinstantiate the avatar.
 24. An article according to claim 23, whereinscaling the data for the avatar requested by the second applicationincludes scaling the data for the avatar requested by the secondapplication to the second scaled data that is different from the scaleddata sent to the application.
 25. An article according to claim 20,wherein: receiving a data request from the application includesreceiving scales to use in scaling the selected data; and scaling theselected data includes scaling the selected data for the avatarrequested by the application according to the scales to use in scalingthe selected data.